Best and Worst School Benefit Packages

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The realization that you can’t dine out because your school salary is too small in relation to the local economy can be, at best, depressing—even more so if you’re putting in long hot days in overcrowded classrooms with no air conditioning or wifi and seriously lacking adequate teaching materials. On the other hand, many international educators live like royalty, perhaps enjoying a maid, a nanny or cook, a driver, finely furnished housing, comprehensive health insurance, a complimentary car and strong savings and travel potential. Yes, many such schools do still exist in today’s worldwide economic downturn. All you have to do is find them!

Few schools, however, advertise their pay package, and recruiting venues usually release participating schools’ benefit information mere hours prior to the event. Many an international teaching candidate has dropped a school from their prospect list at the last minute, realizing a dip into savings would be needed just to make ends meet at the particular school.

Which schools offer international educators the opportunity to live in the style to which we would all like to become accustomed? Which schools will keep you just above the poverty level? The Best & Worst of International School Packages Blog is the place for International Educators to share and compare information on what potential schools realistically have to offer.

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1,136 Responses to Best and Worst School Benefit Packages

Hi all, I am looking at schools in Singapore. Because it is an expensive city to live and for other reasons, I need the best salary package possible. If you can, please provide ballpark salary figures in Singaporean Dollars for consistency. IB PYP schools preferred but not essential.

I got more than the average hire even though I lived locally. The problem is that you neglected to negotiate. I know how desperate China is for licensed teachers. Therefore, I was the highest paid employee.

Hello, we removed your comments because what you have posted is really a review of the school and not comments about on the benefits package. For a number of reason, many of them legal, we ask that you not review schools on the Discussion Boards.

I have included your comments below and encourage you to return to https://internationalschoolsreview.com and post your comments as a school review. You have some valuable information to share with other educators. You do not need to be a site member to post a school review.

Hi, looking at teaching SE Asia, particularly Hanoi. Would come with one school aged child, partner and a travelling gap year daughter. In the UK, I am HoD for ICT & CS and on UPS. Trying to get an idea of whether the salaties would make it affordable or if it is only worthwhile for single NQTs. Anyone have recent reviews of salaries and benefits package? (as most info here seems 4/5 years old)

Made the mistake of being in country and being designated a “local hire” after accepting the position. I had the same nationality, teaching credential and experience as everybody else in the building but because of the misfortune of not being hired at a fair, I didn’t receive housing, yearly airfare, shipping allowance, etc. This is what turned me off of international teaching as I couldn’t believe that there was this type of institutionalized caste or class system that was acceptable in the profession of education.
My advice to be relevant to this topic is to ensure you attend a fair or return to your country of origin and conduct the interview via Skype to ensure you qualify for a benefits package. I am sure many “locally hired” ex-patriates are affected by this inherently unfair and discriminatory practice in many countries. Returned to Canada where my salary and benefits are exactly the same as the other 3500 teachers in the district.

On the other hand, it’s likely you wouldn’t have been hired if you were at a fair. Your local status is what attracted your employer, and it got your foot in the door in the international schools circuit.

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Thanks

I’ve worked at international schools in Shanghai and HK and I am aware that most “big international schools” in China would offer free tuition to children of expat teachers….(others may charge miscellaneous fees). Make sure that this is part of your contract benefits.

Sao Paulo offers impressive salaries. I was very surprised. My current teaching package amounts to 43k pounds plus apartments and flights. The only problem is the Real is dropping against the pound. Some schools offer a sterling component. This helps. Sao Paulo is a concrete jungle – but a pleasant concrete jungle. I really like living here.

Greetings,
Has anyone had any bad/good experiences with British School Manila? They are dragging their feet coming up with a compensation package for support staff (special ed/Master’s level/speech pathology) and I would hate to delay other offers if their salary scale is not even within my range. Thanks in advance.

Hi the english school colombia is not good school they hired international teacher and terminate their contract immediately in few months time without any specific or solid reason this year 2016-2017 they terminated 3-4 international hired teacher and didn’t pay their salaries some of them cried because they did contract for internet, house and other things and get in problem. This is really very wrong. Please be careful before to start job with this horrible school Tes bogota colombia

I worked for a school in Sur, Oman that was next door and connected to the Shell school. When I was there, only the expat kids went to the school and the local children whose parents worked for the same company went to mine. There was talk about combining the schools when I was there (4 years ago). Salary is great, but avoid it at all costs until the Rensons (director and his wife, a principal) leave. Check on his reviews for further details.

I am interested in the International School of Islamabad. They don’t list any benefits information on their website, but just researching someone else last year wrote about it on their blog stating that they had an amazing benefits page on their website….that has now been removed. I did read comments on here about Lahore American School in Pakistan…..so thought Maybe someone might have any info on the International School of Islamabad salary/benefits/school itself….
If so, please share. Thank you!!!!!!!!

I used to work at Karachi American School, which has their salary scale posted on their website: http://www.kas.edu.pk/html/payscale.htm. From what I have heard, ISOI has a salary schedule that is just slightly more but Islamabad also has a slightly higher cost of living.

Has anyone worked at American International School Vienna? Want to know if there is any kind of savings potential there before deciding to dive into the application process for next year. I’m a single male with 10 years of international school experience. Have heard plenty of negative comments about the inability to save money in most parts of Europe…hopefully this doesn’t fall into that category.

I have been teaching in Europe for five years but now I need to make/save some money. Does anyone know of any high paying European international schools with high savings potential? I know I will most likely end up going to Asia, but I would love to stay in Europe if possible.

Generally, the best saving in Europe is in Eastern Europe at one of the better schools. Usually each country has just one outstanding school. Western Europe will soak up most of your money with income tax and social security tax. That being said, if you are committed to staying in one of these western European countries for the long haul (20+ years) you will likely have a better pension than a US social security or state teacher retirement plan.

That might be the case in your state, but in my state, the teacher retirement system is still funded. Retired teachers get a pension based on how many years they worked, from 20 on, and an average of the last few year’s salary. Teachers can also elect to retire, and then be rehired for another three years at their current pay scale. During those three years, their retirement is deposited into an account which they can access after they leave teaching or three years, whichever comes first. If they want to continue working after those three years, they will be paid a first-year teacher salary. Or they can teach in a private school which would also be a pay cut, but perhaps not so drastic.

True. I worked at QSI for five years. Their salary is completely tax free (they cover any required tax), currently provide Cigna insurance, and after a few years (sometimes two), you can request a transfer to one of their many campuses (30 countries).

am interested in an international school in Jeddah but cannot see details on benefits. i have over 15 years experience in teaching maths and science in high school. i would appreciate your input on this issue.

I just found your message here. BISJ (British) and AISJ (American) are your two best options for Jeddah. JPGS (British) is also here, but has had significant turnover of staff and leadership over the years. BISJ is an IB school, while AISJ is American/AP. Each offers housing on compounds, as well as other benefits.

Id love to hear your opinion as I am considering above there in the near future. Could you email me about your work experience and benefits package there? I’d have a few questions for you. My email is cpkinnally@gmail.com

I was offered 5 different positions this recruiting season, 3 of which were before the January fairs, and 2 after when I had re-signed with my current employer. What I can tell you is that the two schools I was most interested in, one in Shanghai, and the other in Bahrain, were $1000-2000 USD/month lower in pay that what I currently make. The school in Egypt of all places was pretty close with an almost identical contract offer as what I currently have. Haiti and India weren’t even close. Maybe half of what I currently make. I’m only talking pay. My children are back home and not overseas with me so the tuition benefits were not important to me but each school offered up to 2 free tuition packages. All but China were tax free but the school in China paid the taxes. The school in Bahrain was the only one that had better housing.

Did you use recruiters or attend the fairs? I am working and cannot go to any. What recruiters (if any), would you recommend? I am interested in an American school (if possible), in Egypt, but am currently working with a British Curriculum in the Middle East.

Without experience, you are going to have a hard time getting into the really good international schools, many of which use Search and ISS for all their recruiting. TIE Online is another resource. I am registered with Search, and they list salaries on their website.

I have always wanted to go to Europe, too, but when I’ve considered the cost of living, it just wasn’t ever worth it. Most teachers I know who have taught in Europe end up dipping into their savings…so they are poorer when they leave than when they arrived.

I’m currently in China earning 40.5K USD per year plus benefits with 8 years experience and a master’s. This is a pretty good package, and I can save 3000$ per month. One thing to be aware of, though, is that sometimes schools don’t actually pay you according to your contract. For example, out of 11 teachers who left at the end of last year, only 4 actually got their retirement pay, which is supposed to be 10% of annual salary. So sometimes it sounds great, but the reality is very different. I do have a membership to ISR’s site, so I can check reviews, and honestly, I would recommend that you get a membership, too. Obviously some of the reviews are written by jaded, bitter ex-employees, but you can usually tell what to believe. This would give you an idea about the salary and benefits and if those salary and benefits actually materialize.

Also consider cost of living. Of course Beijing, Shanghai, HK, and Singapore usually pay more…but you are also going to spend a ton living in those places!

Hi Purplekitten, yes sign up for Search Associates. It is about $220 I think, but worth it because you can see a whole lot of schools and their payscales, about the school, contacts package etc. Well worth it, even if you do it just once to see all the schools and get a really good overview of what to expect in regards to packages. I didn’t find they helped me get jobs though, just put you in the database and then helps you find jobs you then apply for.

Yes, definitely sign up with a major recruiter! I personally recommend Search’s John Ritter. He is the best! A huge resource, and when I’m on the market again, I’ll register and work with him again.

The other great thing about ISS and Search is that there is some built-in security. Both you as the teacher and the school as the employer are obligated to honor the contract. If either of you messes up, then Search will terminate you! That’s how my school in China got terminated by Search, ISS, and TIE. Now I’m in a school that uses Search, and if they were ever to not pay me or something, then I would report them to Search and they would be terminated. Same goes for me. If I break my contract, my school can report me to Search, and then I would be terminated. Of course in either case, documentation is necessary, and Search does investigate. But regardless, I like this added security feature, especially having just finished at a hellhole school in China. I want to use Search again, and so does my school, so of course we both have excellent motivation to hold up our ends of the deal.

Hi there, I am looking for school in the middle east that covers up to 2 dependents tuition fees.. the school I am working for covers only 50% and coming out of my salary. I am left basically with nothing
Thanks

You should have no problem getting a job, but you’ll definitely end up in one of the lower tiered schools. The best schools require extensive experience, including overseas experience, plus credentials. You’re on your way, but it’ll take a while to get what you need to get into the embassy schools, for example. TIE Online is a good place to get jobs. Once you have experience, you can register with Search or ISS. Good luck!

You’ll hear from teachers along the way. Also, Search and ISS list the schools’ compensation packages, but of course you have to be approved and registered to get access to that info. If you check the US State Department’s Office of Overseas Schools, you can see which schools receive funding from the US gov. That usually indicates a better school. You can also search by finding accredited schools on the WACS, SACS, MSA, and IB websites, but it will take some leg work since you’d then have to check out each school website.

In general, Asia (China and Korea) and Middle East have the most savings potential. Latin America pays less, and Europe is expensive, so you can’t save as much.

Oh, and also ask for current teachers’ email addresses and then ask them. I do this by implying I’m concerned about life as a young single female. Then once I’ve established contact with teachers, I can ask more questions.

I wouldn’t. Good schools choose experienced staff. When people bandy words around like lower tier, they send mixed messages because there is no clear definition of what this means (is it lower salary, just established, run as a business first and educational facility second, run on local guidelines and not international … and so on).
If you start your teaching experience off in a poor school, you will not get the support you need to develop as a professional. You will gain poor habits, lack professional guidance, be frustrated and model your teaching more on the people around you (who will undoubtably have bad habits) and may even get jaded and resentful.
Get a job in your own country in a good school for a few years so that you develop positive skills in a nurturing environment.

Looking for the highest paying job possible for my husband and I. I am aware of regions, but not SPECIFIC SCHOOLS. It’d be great if each of us could make 50k+. Please offer any specific school suggestions. Thanks!

If you are interested and experienced in ESL, you could both earn your target salary in Jeddah, KSA, along with having free housing and free utilities on a nice compound, car and gas provided, flights, insurance and more.

I currently teach in AK and as a first year teacher last year signed on for 53k. I teach in the NWABSD school district 2nd highest in the state. I live in teacher housing due to the remoteness which I rent at a pre-set rate that save a lot of money.

I’m at the same school district (Northwest Arctic Borough School District in Alaska…GOOGLE IT) as a 1st year teacher as well. The salary is tremendous (53.8K USD base salary, no experience). Rent+Health Insurance+US Taxes are taken directly out of pay (500-800 Rent, 90-150 Health Care/Monthly, and no State Tax!). They have a great retirement system (12.6% employer, up to 8% employee). If you use amazon prime, deal with the cold and long nights, and look at deals in the local stores, you can find additional value/savings. Kids/Administration/Villages are very accommodating, friendly, and laid back, plenty of vacation time, and the Northern Lights are AMAZING!